Japan's Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda were left with an uphill task in their bid for a first Olympic gold medal Monday after placing second in the duet technical routine in the synchronized swimming competition at the Athens Games.
Performing "Awa odori," a routine based on a regional summer dance in western Japan, Tachibana and Takeda accumulated a total of 49.000 points and finished behind Russian favorites Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova at the Olympic Aquatic Centre.
Reigning world champions Davydova and Ermakova delivered a near flawless routine for 49.417 points while American duet Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were third with 48.334.
Tachibana and Takeda impressed with their rocket splits and bent knee combined spin and earned 9.8 across the board for overall impression and marks ranging from a 9.6 awarded by Canadian judge Sandra Roberts to 9.9 for execution.